Possible Abduction Attempt in South Berkshire

NEW MARLBOROUGH, Mass. — Parents in the Southern Berkshire Regional School District are being advised to be alert after a possible abduction attempt Thursday afternoon.

Authorities say the incident happened about 3:30 on Norfolk Road in New Marlborough as an 11-year-old boy walked home from school.

The boy told investigators he was approached by a man in a gray, four-door car with blue and white New York license plates.

The driver was described as a white man, approximately 30 to 40 years old with a thin build and medium-length black hair that looked a little shaggy.

Anyone who might have seen a vehicle matching this description is asked to call the state police barracks in Lee at 413-243-0600.

In a letter to parents, Mount Everett Regional School Principal Glenn Devoti said the suspicious man "may have attempted to abduct a 6th grade elementary student."

The police and bus company were notified, wrote Devoti.

The New Marlborough Police Department, state police detectives assigned to the district attorney's Office and state troopers from the Lee barracks are investigating.

"Please be cautious about leaving students unsupervised at bus stops and notify police or school personnel if you observe anyone matching this description or observe any other suspicious behavior," he asked.

Lanesborough Police were also looking for a New York vehicle earlier this week, that one a red sedan, possibly a late 1990s model similar to a Pontiac Grand Am, and operated by an older white man with facial hair.

In that case, police said the car had been seen around school bus stops in Lanesborough and they wished to speak with the operator.

Connecticut Man Pleads Guilty In Fatal Sheffield Crash

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A Sandy Hook, Conn., man pleaded guilty Thursday morning in Berkshire Superior Court to motor vehicle homocide and his fifth offense of drunken driving in connection with an accident that claimed the life of a South County woman.

Frederick J. Weller, 36, will have to serve 15 to 18 years in Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Cedar Junction.

Weller was accused of drunkenly smashing his truck into two vehicles, killing Moira Banks-Dobson, 24, and seriously injuring Russell Brown, then 52, on Feb. 28, 2012. Weller was northbound in his F-350 on Route 7 in Sheffield when he hit Brown's Dodge Neon head-on in the southbound lane and then ended up on top of Banks-Dobson's Toyota Corolla. He tried to flee the scene and threatened people trying to stop him.

Appearing before Judge John Agostini, Weller pleaded guilty to single counts of motor vehicle homicide while under the influence of alcohol and operating to endanger; operating under the influence of alcohol, serious bodily injury and operating to endanger; operating under the influence of alcohol (5th offense); intimidation of a witness or other person; leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, death resulting; and leaving the scene of a personal injury accident.

He also pleaded guilty to two counts of leaving the scene of a property damage accident and one count of operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license.

Agostini ordered that he serve a 12- to 14-year state prison sentence at Cedar Junction on the charge of motor vehicle homicide while under the influence of alcohol and operating to endanger. He was given a 3- to 4-year state prison sentence, to be served on and after the first sentence, on the operating under the influence of alcohol, serious bodily injury and operating to endanger charge. He was given concurrent jail time on the other charges.

The investigation was conducted by members of the Sheffield Police Department.